Elderly man found dead in Lancaster County

John Kilheffer's body found near his Conestoga Township home

John Kilheffer's body was found in this field about three quarters of a mile from his home.

SOURCE: Pete Muntean

Elderly man found dead in Lancaster County

John Kilheffer's body found near his Conestoga Township home

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Updated: 12:20 PM EST Dec 27, 2012

CONESTOGA TOWNSHIP, Pa. —

An elderly man who disappeared Wednesday has been found dead in a field, according to police.

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John Kilheffer, 87, had been missing since about 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. He was last seen at his home in the 1200 block of Long Lane in Conestoga Township, Lancaster County, police said.

Search crews and volunteers discovered his body Thursday morning about three quarters of a mile from his home.

Kilheffer suffered hypothermia and had been dead several hours, police said. He was in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, they said.

"There were too many variables here for us to stay positive in terms of finding the gentlemen capable of surviving. But unfortunately the weather conditions -- the rain, the snow, the wind. All of those and his age especially were just factors that were against his odds as well as our odds of finding him safely," Southern Regional Police Chief John Fiorill said.

The spot where Kilheffer's body was found was still on his farm property. Police said it looks like he circled around the home before he sat down.